A bushel and a peck

Roll out the barrels

In the interest of stating the obvious, it’s Monday. It’s Monday, October 24th, to be precise–which just so happens to be the date Anna Edson Taylor became the first to go over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel and live to tell the tale. She was sixty-three years of age. Sixty-three, people!

And oh what adventures those years held–not always the best, mind you.

She was born to an affluent family; when her father died, in her twelfth year, he left the family enough money to continue their comfortable lifestyle. An avid reader, she went on to become a teacher. She married. They had a son, who died shortly after birth. Then her husband died–leaving her a Civil War widow after a mere seven years of marriage. She continued teaching, but soon discovered she wanted something more. She became a dance instructor. She opened a dance studio. Becoming something of a gypsy, she settled here and there. And she always lived beyond her means.

So it was, at the dawn of her sixties, she decided she needed to do something drastic–something that would draw attention, make her famous, and bring in a small fortune to cushion her twilight years.

Today, she would simply star in her own reality TV series. Back then, she used what money she had left to build a custom barrel, in which to sail the Niagara. She lived, of course–a bit worse for wear, but walking all the same. And she did earn fame; she was wildly requested in Vaudeville. But she refused to step foot on the stage, considering it much too vulgar. Unfortunately, the high-class audiences she sought, felt a woman who would go over the falls in a barrel much too vulgar. So, she contented herself with the occasional appearance, posing for photos with her barrel {and, occasionally, the kitten who tested it out} . . . until her manager stole her barrel and hired a beautiful, young woman to impersonate her.

Low point, for certain.

By now you may be wondering what I’m smoking, over here. It’s Monday, for crying out loud! According to the unspoken rule of blogging etiquette, I should be posting photos of cute pups and inspirational verbiage. Instead I’m telling the most melancholy tale.

But here’s the thing: yes, Anna Edson Taylor was a woman who spent, more than she earned; she flitted about, rather than sticking to one thing; she hired a manager who was wily, at best. But she also got up, when she was down. When one thing didn’t work, she tried another. She used her mind to accomplish a historic “first.” And she did, eventually, earn the fame she originally sought . . . today there are stories, poems, and songs penned in her honor. I dare say she could have accomplished all she set out to do, if she had but thought it through a bit more, and surrounded herself with the right people.

So yes, it’s something of a cautionary tale, on a Monday . . . a fresh start, to a new week . . . a week that will soon lead into a new month, and before we know it, a new year.

What a lovely post for a Monday – I like that it's different, a cautionary tale, yet not. Here's to hoping this next week is a wicked and wild one!

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